“Fuck, I’ve got a killer headache.”
“A head like that should ache,” JD chuckles, and the rumble of Ringo’s matching laugh has the corner of my mouth tugging north.
He turns in a half circle, his eyes scanning the space, and I instantly know they are seeking me out. I get the feeling he’s checking to see if I’ve run.
I should. This lifestyle is hard, and I’m still on the fence as to whether I want Bobbi to be a part of that, but shit, I love Ringo. Like heart crushingly so. I don’t want to lose him, but to have him, is to be a part of this life… for good.
“Angel,” he rasps, and his voice nearly melts me.
The sight of him standing with his shoulders hunched forward, his skin covered in blood and some dodgy bandage work by Lewy, is almost too much to bear.
Shit… I can’t leave him. I can’t live in this world without him, no matter where I am. Look at everything he’s sacrificed for me. For Bobbi. No matter what sort of life I live from this day forward, it has to have him in it. It just has to.
“We’re still in a fight,” I snap, but there’s no venom to it, and his sluggish grin has me mirroring it.
“I fucking love fighting with you, Angel.”
A laugh escapes me, and I take a step towards him when a voice stops me.
“A deal is a deal.”
We look to the side to see my grandfather, my mother, and my sister, Maggie, being held at gunpoint by Murf.
Shit. They didn’t escape.
A swarm of butterflies race through my chest and down into the pit of my belly, and I can’t tell if it’s fear or elation.
They are still here. They aren’t chasing Bobbi. I can still end this.
“It doesn’t matter who the leader of this club is,” Banes snaps. “The money has been paid, so give us Abbey, Bobbi, and the hard drive, and we’ll be on our way.”
I flinch at the balls on Banes. Or maybe it’s not balls, but delusion?
“Old man, you fucked with the wrong people.” Ringo sighs, like he can’t be bothered dancing around the situation like Nate often did, and he tries to straighten a little more, using JD as support. “We’re an MC. We do business differently, and fucking handshakesand conversations don’t always work out. The deal you had with Smitty is now null and fucking void.”
“I don’t think so.” Banes shakes his head, his eyes flicking to me before going back to Ringo. “We agreed to the club’s terms.”
“Not the club’s terms,” Ringo snaps. “This was never brought to a vote, so the only deal you made is with the guy dead at my fucking feet.”
I have to give it to my grandfather. He does a damn good job at remaining poised. The only sign that Ringo’s words have affected him is the slight flare of his eyes.
“You’re an idiot for coming here,” I snap, gaining his attention, as well as the sneering glares of my mother and sister. “Trusting Smitty was a mistake that was always going to get you killed.”
“You little bitch!” my mum screeches. “How dare you speak to your minister like that!”
“Oi!” Jols gets up in my mother’s face. “Don’t speak to her like that. You forget you’re on our turf now. Back the fuck off!”
I bite back my grin as my mum flinches back, Maggie gripping her arm as her eyes go wide.
But Banes remains stoic.
“Do we have empty containers?” Ringo asks, and Vender answers.
“We have heaps. Want them separated?”
Ringo nods. “Throw Spud in one too, as well as this fucker.”
Ringo points to Blake Moore, and his club brothers move forward, taking each of our new prisoners away, my family in tow.
